A Forgotten Lotus
by kamikaze-djali
Summary: Hellboy is sent to investigate the unexplained death of a child with only a tabloid newspaper, an inaccurate map and a few bullets to carry him through. Rated for brief implied adult situation and generalized creepiness. No Mary Sue, Comic based.
1. Xiao Chen

_**Author note:** I do not own BPRD, Hellboy, Manning or anything else from the "Hellboy" universe. I do, however, own Jxiao Chen and anything / one else with a name that appears made-up. This is meant, yet again, to be a comic-based fiction without romance ans short chapters in oder to keep me interested in writing and moving things along quickly. This time it's just Hellboy and a few new characters added for the sole purpose of making a plot. As usual, there will be gore, generalized creepiness and a basis on nightmares. Please R&R:)_

* * *

**Jxiao Chen**

She was beautiful beyond all reason, slim, blonde, blue-eyed had lavishly large bosum. Not only was she gorgeous, she was a talented dancer, singer, spoke eight languages and could effortlessly harness the powers of plants, water and earth. She had been taken in by the B.P.R.D. as a teenage recluse off the streets with no family, nor any memory of her former life.

Only days after her arrival and twenty-minute training session she began going on missions with Kate Corrigan, Liz Sherman, Abe Sapien and Hellboy. She had saved them all all least twice during her first week. She was a star, and Hellboy was madly in love with her.

After a long tough day of saving the entire BPRD and thousands of civilians through her natural skill and talent, Maraigh Sioux threw herself at Hellboy. She caressed Hellboys' face and whispered sweet nothings into his right ear. Hellboy leaned into her and began to kiss her with such force that she moaned with pleasure. She violently pulled at his duster jacket, causing charms, relics and used horseshoe nails to fall from the many pockets, littering the floor.

* * *

Hellboy suddenly awoke in a cold sweat. He rubbed the stumps of his horns with his left hand and looked over at the clock. It was 02:45 and the room was empty. He shifted his weight to face away from the clock, the springs of the small bed complaining under his weight. The sky remained dark; no moonbeams could penetrate the cloudy sky.

For a few moments Hellboy laid on his back, staring at the low ceiling. Frog monsters, the living dead and visions of the apocalypse at his own right hand were enough to deal with. He slowly sat up on the bed, tossing the covers onto the floor next to his belt, gun, pants, half-boots and jacket. His hooves pointed toward the ceiling, an effect of the short bed.

Unable to sleep, Hellboy threw on his clothes and wandered outside into the garden to clear his head. Jxiao Chen certainly kept a beautiful garden. Sacred lotus, jasmine, spirea, and other plants that Hellboy didn't care to know the names of, grew neatly. He was careful not to cut the pampered grass with his sharp hooves as he wandered about in thought.

Less than two days ago, Manning had sent him here with a few bullets, an inaccurate map, a digital photograph of a tapestry on blue photocopy paper and a two-page article from a grocery-store tabloid. Despite the apparent lack of serious surrounding the case, Hellboy knew it was real. He'd seen the children's bodies, he'd seen the crying mothers and he'd seen the red apples in each childs' hand. Even worse, he'd seen the terror in the mothers' eyes who knew that their child may be next. Hellboy sat next to a stone bench beneath a weeping willow, his eyes on the Jiang Li river. No legend nor story could explain what had happened at this very spot, thus he now sat on the cold wet ground staring at a river.

Hellboy waited the entire night in the garden. He watched the clouds fade away, the moon appear and the stars begin to twinkle before fading into twilight. The only sound was that of the fountain and river. No spirits rose, nor did any birds sing. There was only the fountain.

_drip, drip, drip, swish… kaplunk… drip, drip, drip, swish… kaplunk… drip, drip, drip, swish… kaplunk…_

Hellboy watched the river.

_drip, drip, drip, swish… kaplunk… drip, drip, drip, swish… kaplunk… _

Hours passed. He watched the river, thought about things he never wished to think about and then watched the river some more.

_drip, drip, drip, swish… kaplunk… drip, drip, drip, swish… kaplunk… _

Hellboys gaze focused on the rippling water. An object, small, round and definitely a bright shade of red, bobbed on the surface.

_drip, drip, drip, swish… kaplunk… drip, drip, drip, swish… kaplunk… _

Hellboy rested his chin on his stone right hand. The answer lay upstream, in the forest. Elves were easy to remove. An accurate map was all he needed to finish the slow and uncomfortable mission. Soon, he had drifted into a shallow slumber.

The sun had barely risen and Jxiao Chen was outside tending to the many plants in her garden. She caught sight of Hellboy under the willow, his red shape in a sea of morning mist causing her a brief moment of panic until she remembered. He was here to help. Chen looked down at the grass, away from Hellboy, as she passed by. She didn't mean to be rude, her heart wept for those poor mothers and she wanted to do her best for her country. When she had committed herself to help the BPRD, however, this was not what she expected. She dutifully returned to the house to prepare congee and crullers for her visitor.

Hellboy heard Jxiao Chen pass by, yet ignored her footsteps. The poor widow had nothing to worry about. He would be gone before noon and hopefully be on a plane home within two days. One more day and he's begin to lose his appetite.

_...to be continued_


	2. Pools Of Water

_**Disclaimer: **HB, BPRD are not mine. I use them with utmost respect for their creator, Mike Mignola. Significant effort has been placed in keeping close to his creepy settings, character behaviour and subject matter. _

_I've never been to China, all of this came in a dream. For those who got freaked out thinking this is a "Mary Sue", it is most definitely not. That first bit of the last chapter was definitely a joke. Mary Sue is evil. If there is any romance for Hellboy in the rest of this story, he'll have to go solo because it's just him and the ghouls in this one._

* * *

**Pools of Water**

Hellboy wandered through the thick trees unstream of where he had seen the apple. There was no map available, all he had was a compass. He followed the river for about three hours, occasionally stopping to chomp some stale almond cookies or a cheap cuban cigar.

It was about noon while resting at the mouth of a small stream, when Hellboy saw another apple bobbing along. It was like the others, red small and round. It was quite perfect, actually. Had he not known better, he'd have plucked it from the water as a snack.

Hellboy cautiously followed the small brook through a rocky, densely wooded area. His hooves sunk deeply into the black muck between the trees, soaking his half-boots. The ground was bumpy, with deep pits several feet in diameter and mounds of earth equally large. Water pooled in many of the holes, which lay open and black. The air was thick, damp and rotten.

The brook meandered through the trees for several miles, becoming progressively more narrow. Small red apples continued to bob along, about every twenty minutes or so. It was at a clearing that Hellboy encountered a small man, no larger than two feet in height. He stood by the water and angrily tossed an apple into it, causing a small "plop". The apple sank, popped back out of the water and then settled on the surface for its' long journey downstream. The little man swore profusely as droplets of water struck him, stamping his large naked feet on the damp rocks. It was an elf.

Hellboy watched the elf for several minutes, he was old, wrinkly and clearly ill-tempered. Soon afterward, he charged towards Hellboy and bit at his hooves and boots. Hellboy gently reached down and picked up the small man by his left ankle.

"I'm not what you're after, kid." The elf struggled madly, biting at the stone fingers that held him. "Listen buddy, we can either work together, or I can easily toss you into the river and move on. Your choice."

"Tao has done nothing, demon."

Hellboy dropped the small man into the mud. The elf quickly regained his fighting stance, yet suddenly relaxed. He'd not escape.

"Where did you get those apples?"

Tao grinned. "They are very tasty. Would you like one? I have some here." The elf pulled two from the rock where he had stood. "They are very sweet."

"No thanks, kid. Where did you find them?"

"They are my apples. You cannot have them. I will give you these." Tao grinned once more. "Take these. Very tasty."

Hellboy fixed his yellow eyes on Tao, who began to tremble. "That river looks cold."

Tao, now terrified, lowered his head. "I will not tell you."

An thin iron chain suddenly fell from Hellboys hand, over Tao's head and onto his shoulders. Hellboy repeated himself. "Take me to where you found those apples."

The elf, unable to argue further, walked through the forest with Hellboy at his heels. The shadows were beginning to lengthen as they arrived at the old orchard, where hundreds of aged and twisted apple trees stood.

"I do not own the apples. They grow on their own. They trap me here, Lian holds me here, the dock-tailed horses chase me." Hellboy removed the chain from the elves neck.

"You will no longer be a slave to this forest, Tao. Go home." Tao wasted no time, he quickly disappeared into the trees.

* * *

Hellboy walked through the orchard, which was what it had been years ago. A wall ran through the trees, six feet high with circular passageways. Many of the walls had now crumbled away and had trees growing out of them. Moss-covered statues also decorated the forest, a dragon, a demon and a large short-docked horse among them. The demon had horns and a tail, much like himself, but had two normal, albeit large, hands. None of the stones moved, nor did they show signs of having ever been posessed.

No cultivated plants remained, only willow and wild shrubs. There were also the apple trees, hundreds of apple trees. Hellboy studied the leaves and branches, which bore small wormy fruit, unlike what he'd seen in the elves' hands.

Evening began to fall and Hellboy had scanned many of the trees in search of fruit similar to that seen in the river. Every tree in the orchard produced the same wormy fruit. Hellboy sat on an old and broken stone bench, watching the moon rise over the darkening forest. Shadows fear darkness, it is where they lose their mystery.

The moonbeams cast long shadows over the trees and into the many blackened pools of water. Thin tendrils of mist began to rise from the pools, an effect of the sudden drop in temperature. The air was fresh, cold and smelled of Lotus and Jasmine flowers. Hellboy lifted his head at the sudden chill and pleasant smell.

The mist spread outward from each dark pool, enveloping each tree and shrub. As the white cloud spread through the orchard, the moonlight began to reflect off lush foliage and smoothly carved stones transformed by the mist.

Hellboy watched as the bench he sat upon became smooth and intact under his weight. He stood up to inspect what had been broken mere seconds before. Then he heard laughter.


	3. The Sound Of Flutes

_**Disclaimer: **HB, BPRD are not mine. I use them with utmost respect for their creator, Mike Mignola. Significant effort has been placed in keeping close to his creepy settings, character behaviour and subject matter. I've never been to China, thus most of the name, plants and foods have been researched on Google._

_Noteto some readers: some of the subject matter in this chapter may cause offense to some. There is no sex, bad language, racism or other nasties, but some may still be offended. Please respect that this whole story is based on a dream I had years and years ago and is intended as a creepy Hellboy fanfiction that happens to involve a love story. Please don't sue me._

* * *

**  
**

**The sound of flutes**

A delicate tune of sadness carried on the air, through the trees and to Hellboys' ears. He followed its sound through the trees and gardens, being careful where he stepped. Lotus blossoms lay at his feet, their delicate petals bruised by his hard pointed toes.

Hellboy quickly turned to see where Tao had scurried off into the darkened bush, away from the shadowy twilight world where he himself stood. Tao may serve right to be afraid.

He continued to walk through the empty gardens, admiring the eerie misty beauty that had suddenly arisen from a dark and depressing swamp land. A small brook meandered through the manicured gardens, under thick stone bridges and between lush bushes. The music continued to grow louder. The brook ended at a large pond, Peking ducks and waterlilies gently floating on the surface. An appletree hung delicately over the pond, its' twisted branches shading the pond and golden fishes within it. A ring of ripples spread over the calm water as a single red apple fell into the crystal water. This was the tree Hellboy had been looking for, yet the music sounded from elsewhere.

* * *

The pond was clear water, yet faded into a black nothingness. Hellboy dropped a small piece of earth from his foot into the water. There were no ripples as the dirt clod was swallowed up by the liquid crystal. The fish did not scatter. He pressed on, toward the source of the music. Soon, he could make out a female voice, high pitched and mournful, singing to the flutes in Mandarin.

"_My love has ran, my daughter bound. My life had ended, we'll not be found." _

The scent of jasmine grew stronger as Hellboy turned through the endless garden maze. Before him sat a girl, no older than 18, with a girl about five years old on her lap. The womans dress was long, flowing and wrapped around her delicate form as she sat on the bench. Her hair, eyes and figure were beyond beautiful, she posessed an unearthly angelic beauty that seemed to pull at his very soul. She did not look up at Hellboy, but rather stared at her child, feeding her the red, red apples that sat at the end of her flowing dress in a small heap.

Hellboy stared at the woman until she lifted her gaze to him. She did not run, nor did she cry out, but rather she placed her daughter on the ground and gestured into the air. The small girl stumbled away, teetering miserably away from her mother.

"_Feng. You have come at last."_ The woman spoke in monotone, holing a quiet, neutral expression with her mouth nearly closed. _"Where have you taken him! Bring him back!" _The pain in her voice could not be hidden.

Clearly the woman was upset, but there was little Hellboy could do to console her. He simply stared at her hollowed expression and emotionless face and continued to wander through the maze for the monster that would invariably come to destroy him.

The child stared at Hellboy, balancing on delicate and fancy shoes. The girl began to cry and tried to run away. She took three steps and then fell onto the grass as her right shoe caught on Hellboys' hoofprint. He lifted the small girl in his stone hand and picked up the shoe in the other, sliding it back onto a small and foul-smelling bandaged foot. He set the girl back onto the grass and patted her on the head.

"_Don't worry kid. I ain't here to hurt ya." _

The girl remained where Hellboy had left her, staring at the tall red man as he walked away. The mother remained on the bench, watching Hellboy intently and with hurt eyes but not uttering a word.

Suddenly, Hellboy could hear the woman calling out once more, this time to him directly.

"_Huang, your bride, is awaiting your return. She has missed you woefully, Feng._"

The woman reached into her pocket, removing a small bundle. She held it out at the end of her delicate hand until Hellboy gently took it into his own. Her eyes watered with grief and suffering.

"_Feng, your lotus awaits you."_

Hellboy smiled at the woman, who said neither a word nor moved. He shrugged it off, as spirits often talked in riddles and were confused.

* * *

The garden path ended at the other side of the large pond he'd passed earlier. He watched the mist gather over the surface of the pond in delicate swirls, undisturbed by the occasional falling apple. He focused his yellow eyes on the misty shapes, which now appeared to be human forms rising from the water. Three women slowly emerged from the pond, their clothes clinging to their wet bodies. Their hair dripped down their shoulders, the bindings and combs barely in place.

Hellboy watched as the women moved from the water as if walking on sharp gravel, teetering near one another as they approached him. Hellboy felt the rosary on his belt with a warm left hand.

The women began to sing as they approached him, the smallest of the three looking at him with eyes of love and devotion. Her hair was long, and well-tressed, falling neatly to her shoulders before becoming an elegant bun with extravagant embellishments and ornaments. Her figure was slight, delicate and robed in pink silk with lavish embroidery. Only her innocent face and delicate neck remained uncovered as she approached. Her dark eyes cut into his soul with pain and longing, she must be Huang, the lotus that the other woman has spoken of.

Hellboy stood in place, not entirely sure what to make of this situation. As the eerie beauty neared him, toughts of his dream the night before filled his mind with fear and dread. His hand slipped from the rosary to the Samaritan.


	4. Cinderella

_**Author Note:** Just in time for Valentines day, though I do believe this story started around hallowe'en. Such are things. Same notes as before: BPRD and affiliates are not mine. Story has been rated for creepiness, never been to China, if you see an inaccuracy tel me and I'll fix it. If you don't like what you are reading, click the little box with the "x" in it at the upper right corner of the screen._

* * *

**Cinderella**

Huang stood metres away from Hellboy, her lonely eyes pleading with him to come closer. He remained in one place, watching. The two maidens at Huangs' side stepped away as she fell toward him. Hellboy caught her slight and delicate body in his powerful arms. She looked up at him, her lips slightly parted.

"I have waited for you, my love. It has been a long time since you walked down the river. My sisters and I thought you had died, as Liam and his army followed you."

Huang snuggled into his rough and battle-damaged leather duster and stone hand as if it were the softest silk, whispering "I love you" into the right hand of doom with every breath.

Hellboy held the girl, who appeared to be only 16, while imagining the ancient tapestry's story. The girl then reached into one of his belts pockets and removed the small packet he'd recieved from the singing woman.

"You have brought them, dearest Feng. The matchmaker, she allowed us our love."

Huang held the unopened packet in her covered hands, stifled tears gently falling from her large dark eyes onto her painted face. She opened the packet to reveal two small, delicate and pointed shoes embroidered with herons, flowers and nightingales. Hellboy stared at the shoes and their blood stained and foul-smelling interior. Hung eagerly picked them up and held them out to Hellboy.

Hellboy carried Huang to a stone bench, setting her upon the warmed stone.

"I am not your Feng, Huang. Feng is not here."

"You must be Feng, for you come bearing my shoes." The girl pleaded, her eyes reddening.

"Feng is not coming." Hellboy stated coldly, ignoring the small shoes held before him.

"You are Feng. I am your lotus, the one you loved dearly."

Hellboy stared at the girl, who would be in tears had she suffered them to fall. She was staring at her dress, at her feet, and no longer at him.

"We will find him for you." He regretted the empty promise before the words passed his lips. There was only one way they would be together again.

Hellboy stood, leaving Huang and her two servants near the bench. He moved toward the appletree, staring through it's branches for the guardian. The tree was empty; no protector dwelled in it's branches. He returned his yellow eyes to the three beautiful damsels.

"Would you care to join us for a meal, Feng?" One of Huangs servants spoke softly. "They are bitter, yet have allowed us to await your return. Feng, dearest Feng. What have you done with my son?"

Hellboy leaned his stone hand against the twisted and deformed tree, groaning his displeasure under his breath.

* * *

Hellboy stood under a giant horse sculpture, leaning against it's proud chest and arched neck. He turned his head to look at the rest of the horse, a docked tail arched over it's sloping stone back. Hellboy stepped away from the horse and looked into it's glowing white eyes. Figures moved in their watery depths, a battle, fighting and death by drowning. The eyes revealed the screams of tormented souls voluntarily silenced of their own pain.

Hellboys' memory flashed back to Tao who, just after sunset, had refused to pass a horse similar to this one. In the distance he could hear the plop of Tao throwing apples into the stream.

The pond was dark, the same ducks and lilies floating on it's surface. At a distance, Hellboy could see the three women sitting at the waters' edge, their feet below the surface. He watched them for several minutes as they fixed their hair, arranged their silk gowns and waited calmly, as if posing for an oilpainting or tapestry. Huang gently bent forward and scooped up the water in her hands, drinking slowly. Her companions scooped up the red apples, nibbling their red skins.

Hellboy pulled a canteen from his belt and walked toward the maidens. The women sat straight when they saw him, resting their hands on their lap and pulling their feet under their long dresses. Huang looked at him pleadingly. Her companions lowered their eyes.

"Please, Feng." Pleaded Huang. "Join us for a meal."


	5. Running

**_Author note:_** _I realize these last few chapters are short. Reason would be that something this length fits well into my evening and allows more frequent updates. Likely most of the audience, I assume it's more than three (please leave a review if you haven't already, it's great motivation), has clued in to what has happened, or will by the end of this chapter. Same disclaimer as all the other chapters. Hellboy is not mine, never been to China, only have google and a few nasty dreams to go on. Happy reading!_

* * *

**Running**

Yin sat at Huangs side, her eyes on the water before her. It had not been so long ago that she had been married to Shing, a handsome and strong farmer, who bought her fine clothes and fathered her two healthy sons. She stared into the water, the fish swimming under her mangled and deformed feet. Feet that kept her from her family. She cried invisible tears as memories filled her mind.

Screams woke Fang Yin from her restful sleep, she violently grasped Shings' arm, waking him. Fang Yin sat upright in the bed, her pregnant belly slowing her from keeping up with her husband as he ran out to investigate. As she awaited his return the orange glow of flame appeared outside her window, accompanied by the thundering of cannons. Yin pulled herself from the bed, stumbling into her shoes and dress.

"Ho! Chen!" she shouted. "Get Ho and Chen!"

Yin could see the flickering silhouette of her brave husband pass by with the two young boys, two and eight, in his arms. The orange light revealed the screaming faces of her children, now melting into the roar of their burning home. Yin stepped forward, careful not to trip on the rumpled bedclothes.

"Shing!"

"I'm here. I won't leave you!"

Shing took Yins hand and guided her into the street where the charging horses of Liams' army followed flaming arrows. Tears streamed down her face as she watched her neighbors fall to the invaders beside her. Shing pulled at her arm, forcing her along. She tripped and stumbled behind him, Ho and Chen's screams blocking out her husbands words; Shings lips moved noiselessly.

Yin struggled to run, to keep up with her fleeing husband and children. When they reached the edge of the village, Yin tripped and fell, losing her left shoe on the forest floor. She stumbled as screamed in agony as her loving husband dragged her over the rough branches and underbrush.

Suddenly, Shing stopped and scooped Yin into his arms with their youngest child. Chen raced ahead as his father faltered behind under the extra weight. Yin could feel his breathing increase, his chest heaving painfully for air.

"Leave me, Shing. I will wait for you."

"I will not leave the mother of my sons." Shing continued to run through the bush, losing speed with each step. Yin could feel the hoof beats getting closer, she could hear the shouts of the attackers echoing through the trees. Her heart broke.

"Look after Chen and Ho." Yin cried into Shings ear. "We will all die if you don't. If not for me, for our children."

Shing collapsed on the ground, exhausted, in an orchard. Yin crawled from his arms and shouted at him.

"Go! Now!" Defiance would drive him away, protect them all. To face dishonour and save her children seemed the best option. Shing now obeyed. He ran.

Yin crawled through the bushes, hiding herself among the peony bushes, her heart pounding into her throat, chocking her. Her hands covered her mouth, for fear it would leap out her mouth. The steady beat of her heart soon overlapped with the pounding of horse's hooves.

She cowered to the ground motionless as the invaders rode by, their forms outlined by the eerie glow of torches. The air became foul with dust and smoke, causing her to wretch and cough. She drew her sleeve across her nose as she backed away steadily, her bandaged foot touching cold water. Quickly, Yin lowered herself into the water and away from the choking smoke, dust and death.

Standing on her knees in the water, only Yins' nose remained in the cold smoky air. The vibration from cannons and galloping horses continued throughout the night. Yin closed her eyes and imagined her sons, her husband and her family. The thought that they somehow survived kept her awake.

Yin pulled herself out of the pond the following morning, the fish having awaken her from her dream. She replaced her shoe, which sat near the waters' edge, and sat on a stone bench near the shore. Two of her friends from the village, Huang and Yan Yan, sat in the reeds, their faces wet and disheveled. They soon joined her on the bench.

There were no words to comfort them as they sat on the bench, staring into the water. Consumed by their hunger, they plucked red apples from the tree above their heads, tossing the cores into the water for the fish. Huang cried endlessly, her husband having fought the night before, defending her from Liam. Yan Yan sighed, her husband had died in her arms.

* * *

Yin stared at the fish, their golden and white bodies graceful in the water. How long had she been waiting? Where had her unborn child gone to? She lowered her hands to her lap and lowered her head, praying to her ancestors for help. Did it even matter anymore?

Then there was the red man Huang identified as her beloved Feng. He did not belong here, he was a messenger. She began to arrange her hair with her friends, the entire while thinking about the visitor, the first since that night. He had the answers, she knew it. Only he could bring Shing back into her arms.

_to be continued..._


	6. Ni Hao

_Author Note: This is the final chapter of "Lotus". Been a while in updating due to a very, very busy schedule. Same disclaimer as always, I do not own any of the BPRD characters. The ones who never appeared in any BPRD or Hellboy comic are my own creation._

* * *

**Ni hao**

Fang Yin caught, from the corner of her gaze, a hint of an excited smile from Feng. The red man was back, the tall man that Huang hoped was her precious Feng. Yan Yan sat bedside her on the bench, her head lowered, fiddling with the suddenly torn and ragged embroidery of her lotus shoe. Yin stared back into the pool, at the fish and her twisted feet hovering in a black pool of nothingness. As she focused her attention downward she swore she could see her own decaying bones reflecting in the pale light.

Yin did not move her eyes from the water; she could feel the warm presence of the man as he approached. It was finally over, the lie was dissolving and she finally understood. The water rippled out in large rings as Huang entered it. Water neither splashed nor wet her silk-clad form as she passed through to the other side to meet Feng. Yin choked on her own musty breath, suffering not a tear to fall, as she faded to dust.

Hellboy stood at the waters' edge, unarmed aside from a canteen and St Florians' dried ear stored in sea salt. The ear-filled vile swayed at the end of a long chain, millimeters over the silent fishpond. St. Florians ear cast an eerie yellow shadow over the water, a light which penetrated to the very bottom on the pond. The fish and ducks vanished with the glow. Bones lay at the bottom; horses and humans filled the murky depths beneath the brightly coloured lily pads.

Huang continued to approach Hellboy, the water to her waist as she approached. The yellow light reflected off the crushed phalanges, brown and ravaged with age, of her feet. Hellboy stared into her dark eyes, young beautiful eyes full of love. As she came toward him, he could not help but pity her tortured soul. He moved his hooves away from the edge of the water; Huang may not take the light of reality in a kindly manner.

Huang stood merely an arms' length away from Hellboy when she emerged from the water. She was dry, her clothes, makeup and hair pristine and perfect.

"My dearest Feng. You have come at last to rescue me. How long it has been."

Huang closed her eyes as she leaned toward the imaginary Feng. She leaned into Hellboy's side, falling as she tripped on Hellboy's pointed hoof. Hellboy gently grasped her right arm to stop her fall, yet Huang silently fell onto the muddy ground. She looked up at Hellboy with pleading eyes, struggling to stand. Huangs' arm and hand, a mere shred of rotten leather over browned and mouldy bones, lay in the light grip of Hellboy's left hand.

"_Nǐ shì shéi_"

Hellboy could do nothing but stare at the girl as she opened he eyes to the yellow glow that surrounded her, turning her world into a dead and soiled reality. She stared at her broken arm and the bright red arm that held it. She fell back onto the mud, lifting her left arm to her hollow face, crying into a weakly formed fist.

"What have you done with Feng? Feng, oh Feng!!!"

The girl began to cry tears, tears that soaked into her dried skin and dissolved it. As her eyes turned to thin mud, she took one last look to her friends, who had sat moments ago on the bench. Crumbled stones blanketed in thick moss sat in their place, a mere shadow of what had been long ago. She leaned forward into Hellboys' leg, grasping his half-boot with a single weak hand. Hellboy shifted his weight at her touch. She crumbled to dust.

Hellboy shook the last of Huang from his boots, into the stagnant pond water. A pair of small shoes the only solid evidence the of the evening's encounter. Hellboy gently placed them into an empty lunchbag.

* * *

Jxiao Chen faked a smile, yet groaned as she watched a large, red demon walk into her garden. Hellboy laughed to himself as he passed through the garden, by the fountain and to the clear babbling brook. No apples, no more sick children.

"Mind if I use your phone?"

"Right away, Mister Hellboy." Chen disappeared into her house.

Hellboy was quick to dial BRPD headquarters.

"Yeah, Manning? Taken care of, could you send one of the boys over with a chopper? Hong KongÉ Yeah, I can wait a _bit._ I'm getting sick of cruel-arses and spungee."

* * *

Huang awoke in a brightly lit garden, standing tall and firm on the short grass. She sighed with relief as she dug her toes into the cool, plush grass. Birds with brightly coloured feathers and sweet voices surrounded her.

Lifting her dress ever slightly, she walked lightly toward the sound and heightening vibration of hoofbeats. Her heart lifted inside her, it raced. A chestnut horse thundered out of the trees beyond the garden, it's rider steady in the saddle.

"Feng!"

The horse slid to a stop before Huang, who cried streams of tears as she saw the face of her true love. Feng lifted her effortlessly into the saddle infront of her and caressed her raven hair and porcelain face.

"I've been waiting for you, my love. It's been a very long time."

"I love you."

Huang leaned into her precious Feng.

Feng spurred the horse forward into a gallop and the raced through the garden and into the apple-blossom sky.

* * *

_I hope everyone liked this one. Feel bad for having lost interest in it for so long after it was such a vivid dream last year. Please R&R. :) _


End file.
